Erosion and accretion processes on British saltmarshes Volume two - database on British saltmarshes

Final report; vol. 2 of 5Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:q94/08093 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Erosion and accretion processes on British saltmarshes Volume four - modelling of saltmarsh and mudflat processes

Final report; vol. 4 of 5Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:q94/08095 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Erosion and accretion processes on British saltmarshes Volume one - introduction: saltmarsh processes and morphology

Final report; vol. 1 of 5Available from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:q94/08092 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreSIGLEGBUnited Kingdo

Erosion and accretion processes on British saltmarshes Volume 5 - management of saltmarshes in the context of flood defence and coastal protection

Final report; vol. 5 of 5SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:q94/08096 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Identification of potential functional variants underlying ovine resistance to gastrointestinal nematode infection by using RNA-Seq

12 páginas, 4 tablas, 3 figuras.In dairy sheep flocks from Mediterranean countries, replacement and adult ewes are the animals most affected by gastrointestinal nematode (GIN) infections. In this study, we have exploited the information derived from an RNA-Seq experiment with the aim of identifying potential causal mutations related to GIN resistance in sheep. Considering the RNA-Seq samples from 12 ewes previously classified as six resistant and six susceptible animals to experimental infection by Teladorsagia circumcincta, we performed a variant calling analysis pipeline using two different types of software, gatk version 3.7 and Samtools version 1.4. The variants commonly identified by the two packages (high-quality variants) within two types of target regions – (i) QTL regions previously reported in sheep for parasite resistance based on SNP-chip or sequencing technology studies and (ii) functional candidate genes selected from gene expression studies related to GIN resistance in sheep – were further characterised to identify mutations with a potential functional impact. Among the genes harbouring these potential functional variants (930 and 553 respectively for the two types of regions), we identified 111 immune-related genes in the QTL regions and 132 immune-related genes from the initially selected candidate genes. For these immune-related genes harbouring potential functional variants, the enrichment analyses performed highlighted significant GO terms related to apoptosis, adhesion and inflammatory response, in relation to the QTL related variants, and significant disease-related terms such as inflammation, adhesion and necrosis, in relation to the initial candidate gene list. Overall, the study provides a valuable list of potential causal mutations that could be considered as candidate causal mutations in relation to GIN resistance in sheep. Future studies should assess the role of these suggested mutations with the aim of identifying genetic markers that could be directly implemented in sheep breeding programmes considering not only production traits, but also functional traits such as resistance to GIN infections.Financial support for this project was received from the LE248U14 project of Junta de Castilla and León Government. The research was also partially funded by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (AGL2015- 66035-R project, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund). P. K. Chitneedi is funded by a predoctoral fellowship from the Junta de Castilla and León Government and the European Social Fund. M. Martíınez-Valladares is also funded by the “Ramón y Cajal” Programme (RYC-2015-18368) from MINECO

Deep soil inventories reveal that impacts of cover crops and compost on soil carbon sequestration differ in surface and subsurface soils

Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) via organic inputs is a key strategy for increasing long-term soil C storage and improving the climate change mitigation and adaptation potential of agricultural systems. A long-term trial in California's Mediterranean climate revealed impacts of management on SOC in maize-tomato and wheat-fallow cropping systems. SOC was measured at the initiation of the experiment and at year 19, at five depth increments down to 2 m, taking into account changes in bulk density. Across the entire 2 m profile, SOC in the wheat-fallow systems did not change with the addition of N fertilizer, winter cover crops (WCC), or irrigation alone and decreased by 5.6% with no inputs. There was some evidence of soil C gains at depth with both N fertilizer and irrigation, though high variation precluded detection of significant changes. In maize-tomato rotations, SOC increased by 12.6% (21.8 Mg C/ha) with both WCC and composted poultry manure inputs, across the 2 m profile. The addition of WCC to a conventionally managed system increased SOC stocks by 3.5% (1.44 Mg C/ha) in the 0-30 cm layer, but decreased by 10.8% (14.86 Mg C/ha) in the 30-200 cm layer, resulting in overall losses of 13.4 Mg C/ha. If we only measured soil C in the top 30 cm, we would have assumed an increase in total soil C increased with WCC alone, whereas in reality significant losses in SOC occurred when considering the 2 m soil profile. Ignoring the subsoil carbon dynamics in deeper layers of soil fails to recognize potential opportunities for soil C sequestration, and may lead to false conclusions about the impact of management practices on C sequestration